Mathieu Acapandié

Mathieu Acapandié
Acapandié with Nantes
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-12-14) 14 December 2004 (age 21)
Place of birth Saint-Pierre, Réunion, France
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Hajduk Split
Number 22
Youth career
2011–2016 EF Saint-Pierre
2016–2019 CO Saint-Pierre
2019–2022 Nantes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Nantes B 63 (2)
2023–2026 Nantes 5 (0)
2026– Hajduk Split 9 (1)
International career‡
2021 France U18 2 (0)
2022 France U19 1 (0)
2025– Madagascar 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:45, 20 October 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 June 2025

Mathieu Acapandié (born 14 December 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Croatian Football League club Hajduk Split. Born in Réunion, France, he plays for the Madagascar national team.

Club career

Acapandié began playing football in his native Réunion with EF Saint-Pierre and CO Saint-Pierre, before trialing in Metropolitan France in January 2018 with Nantes where he eventually formally joined. He signed his first professional contract with Nantes on 31 March 2022 until 2025, becoming the youngest Réunionnais player to ever sign a pro contract. He made his senior and professional debut with Nantes as a late substitute in a 1–1 (4–2) penalty shootout win over Angers on 8 February 2023. On 26 June 2026, Acapandié signed for Croatian side Hajduk Split following his contract with Nantes expiring.

International career

Acapandié was a youth international for France, having played up to the France U19s. However, he was called up to the Madagascar national team in March 2025. He made his debut on 24 March.

Personal life

Acapandié's cousins, William Gros and Vincent Acapandié, are also a professional footballers.

Playing style

Acapandié began playing as a striker, before moving to midfield for a long time,[when?] then centre-back, followed by attacking midfielder, before finally settling as a right-back at Nantes. According to him, he is an offensive full-back who runs a lot and likes to relay with the midfielders.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 May 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coupe de France Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nantes B 2022–23 CFA 2 230———230
2023–24 National 3 200———200
2024–25 National 3 140———140
2025–26 National 3 62———62
Total 632———632
Nantes 2022–23 Ligue 1 0010——10
2024–25 Ligue 1 0000——00
2025–26 Ligue 1 5010——60
Total 5020——70
Career total 682200000702

International

As of match played 8 June 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Madagascar 202520
Total20

Honours

Nantes U19

References

  1. 1 2 "Académie - Mathieu Acapandié, Made in FC Nantes". FR.
  2. ↑ Lavergne, Morgan (27 March 2022). "Mathieu Acapandié signe son premier contrat pro avec le FC Nantes".
  3. ↑ "Angers Sco : les Angevins tombent aux tirs au but face à Nantes". www.oxygeneradio.com.
  4. ↑ https://www.portal.hr/en/novosti/sport-hr/110284-mathieu-acapandi-novi-je-igrac-hajduka
  5. ↑ J, Arthur (23 November 2022). "France U19 : les Bleuets de Mathieu Acapandié reçus trois sur trois !".
  6. ↑ "NEUF CANARIS APPELÉS EN SÉLECTION !" (in French). 18 March 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  7. ↑ Paul Chevalier (25 March 2025). "Coupe du Monde 2026 – Éliminatoires : Madagascar tombe face au Ghana, mais Acapandié tient son rang" (in French). Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  8. ↑ "FC Nantes : Mathieu Acapandié devient le plus jeune Réunionnais à devenir footballeur professionnel". Linfo.re.
  9. ↑ "Un jour, un jeune. Hors-série : Mathieu Acapandié, premier contrat professionnel". www.maisonjaune.org.
  10. ↑ Soyer, Julien (5 June 2022). "FC Nantes. Les Canaris remportent le championnat de France U19 et découvriront l'Europe". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  11. ↑ RIPOCHE, Antoine (4 June 2023). "Football. Le FC Nantes domine le PSG et remporte son deuxième titre de champion U19 consécutif". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 December 2024.